: any of various large wading birds (family Ciconiidae) chiefly of Asia, Africa, and South America that have long stout bills and are related to the ibises and herons

Illustration of stork

Illustration of stork

Examples of stork in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Wood storks are long-legged, wading birds that can stand more than 4-feet tall when fully-grown. Drew Kann, ajc, 18 Sep. 2023 Among the 21 artists are Julia Chon and Dave Young Kim, who offer cleanly hard-edge paintings of, respectively, a woman in traditional garb and two storks below two strands of barbed wire. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023 There’s a lion, a tiger, a camel, a stork — even a sea monster. WSJ, 14 June 2023 The birds are listed as threatened across their range, but earlier this year, the FWS proposed delisting the storks in Georgia and across the Southeast, citing the successful rebound of breeding populations in the region. Drew Kann, ajc, 18 Sep. 2023 The researchers have drawn a parallel to modern-day storks and cranes, which wade through aquatic areas. Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 14 Sep. 2023 Most kept a reasonable distance, but the storks pressed up to the front line in search of easy prey. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 31 Aug. 2023 In this shot, Friedländer captures two white storks behind the blaze, their appearances blurred as heat rises from the flames in the foreground. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023 The Safari Park received its first milky storks in 2016, with the zoo later also receiving storks. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English storc; akin to Old High German storah stork and probably to Old English stearc stiff — more at stark

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stork was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near stork

Cite this Entry

“Stork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stork. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

stork

noun
: any of various large mostly African and Asian wading birds that have long stout bills and are related to the herons and ibises

More from Merriam-Webster on stork

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